Getting a Grip: Inside Hydro-Turf Headquarters

For those old enough to remember the early years of Kawasaki 440 and 550 standups will recall how miserable the black sharkskin foam tray padding was. It chaffed terribly and it wouldn't be long before large chunks of it suddenly vanished. Spongy, prone to weathering and flaking and woefully unattractive, the early jet skiers were in dire need for a better product.
Prior to its official launch in 1990, Hydro-Turf was once known as Jet Pad, offering riders of the mid-to-late 1980s some very radical colors, including a full array of fluorescent hues that all managed to retain their brilliance far longer than its competitors as well as holding up longer to the rigors of active standup riding. It was only when the company traded hands from one brother to another that Arno Olbricht helped steer the company to being possibly one of the largest brand names in the personal watercraft aftermarket industry.

Based in Anaheim, California, Hydro-Turf has become so synonymous with performance traction products that a ski bare of some HT product is more rare than those without it. So much so that all of Kawasaki’s current PWC brandish the iconic oval logo embossed in the swim platform mat, and Yamaha proudly boasted that its top-of-the-line Super Vortex High Output WaveRunners feature two-tone Hydro-Turf traction mats.